Design research
Investigate lived realities, needs, aspirations and existing practices.
How we work / The Refuture Method
From lived realities
to tested possibilities.
Begin with people’s needs and local context. Explore how conditions could change, make alternatives tangible, and use the findings to decide what to build or adapt. Research continues throughout.
- 01
Ground
Research needs and context.
- 02
Imagine
Explore future options.
- 03
Experiment
Test a prototype with people.
- 04
Build
Agree how it will work.
- 05
Steward
Learn from use and adapt.
Research and feedback continue across every move. Return as learning requires.
Equip and Mobilise throughout. Develop capability and organise the commitment, relationships and resources to act.
Explore each move
A way to begin.
A way to keep learning.
Open a move to see its question and possible outputs.
01GroundWho is here, and what matters?
Investigate present needs, aspirations, local knowledge, existing practices and ecological conditions. Map relationships and power with the people concerned.
Possible outputs
Research findings · Shared brief · Needs and opportunity map
02ImagineWhat futures do people want to shape?
Combine scenarios, participatory visioning and co-design. Explore changing conditions, alternative futures and the trade-offs each could involve.
Possible outputs
Desirable alternatives · Assumptions · Design principles
03ExperimentWhat do we need to learn before committing?
Make concepts tangible. Test usefulness, accessibility, feasibility, demand and wider effects through proportionate prototypes or pilots.
Possible outputs
Prototype findings · Evidence gaps · Next decisions
04BuildWhat helps this work in everyday life?
Refine the alternative through feedback. Establish the operating model, ownership, resources, adoption responsibilities and relevant partnerships.
Possible outputs
Usable alternative · Operating responsibilities · Handover
05StewardWhat should change as conditions change?
Learn from actual use, changing needs and unintended effects. Care for what is built and assess renewal over an appropriate period.
Possible outputs
Learning evidence · Adaptations · Stewardship plan
Connected disciplines
Different lenses.
A shared inquiry.
Choose methods proportionate to the brief. Social, economic and ecological conditions frame the work.
Human-centred design
Shape and test alternatives with the people concerned.
Strategic foresight
Examine change and uncertainty through possible conditions.
Futures thinking
Expand what people can imagine and choose.
Systems thinking
Explore relationships, power, rules and resource flows.
Regenerative design
Design for continuing renewal of people, places and living systems.
Research and evidence
Useful work.
Honest evidence.
Agree participant selection, accessible methods, consent, knowledge use, credit and appropriate compensation. Confirm the expertise each inquiry needs.
How we interpret findings
Separate observations, participant accounts, interpretations and hypotheses. State evidence gaps and limits. Users, beneficiaries and payers may differ; an unmet need or interview alone does not establish commercial demand.
Assess capability through use and regeneration through evidence of renewal. Findings can change the brief; research cannot guarantee adoption or a certain future.
Begin with a brief
What could a different
approach make possible?
Bring a research question, a strategy decision, a service or enterprise idea, or a pilot.